For some Oaklanders, House is a home

Growing up in Detroit not knowing any out African American LGBT people or a single bisexual person of any race, the coming out process was pretty difficult for me. Even though I’d made plenty of queer friends of all races by my mid-twenties, I was finding it hard to shake the fear of judgment that many non-conforming African American people from the more socially conservative Detroit-area often have.

I didn’t realize it when I arrived, but moving to Oakland would not only provide me with opportunities in a new career, but it would be a healing space as I learned to navigate my queerness. What I found here was one of the largest communities of queer women of color in the United States and it was linked to a huge, predominantly African American house music scene. Over the years, the sleepless nights spent worrying about whether I’d be accepted by my family and friends at home subsided and I realized that I was smack dab in the middle of this beautiful, diverse, soulful, open, warm space of people who cared more about listening to great music than spending their time only with people just like themselves.

In a series of articles, dj fflood (aka Richard Wright) chronicles the past, present and future of the Oakland house music scene, which has been so healing for me and many others. No wonder I felt welcome, he points out that house music originated in “black, brown, gay and straight communities in early ’80s Chicago.”

These articles are wonderful because they offer a context for understanding a rich and diverse culture and community here in Oakland. fflood chronicles the evolution of house culture in Oakland from the early 80s when DJs Johnny Stake and Nate Copeland first began spinning house in Oakland, to the current scene with parties that are focused on house music (such as Top Ten Social, thePeople and Feel Free) and DJs spinning house music nearly every night of the week in Oakland, to the future which may see a new Golden Era for house music in Oakland.